Online Communities And Classifieds In S.A
Jacques du Rand 2019-09-17
Online communities, message boards, classifieds and forums are some of the greatest resources that the internet has to offer, and you can find an answer to almost any question and a forum on almost every topic you can imagine.
We took a closer look at the best, largest online communities out there that can help you to stay connected and meet the right people no matter what the topic might be.
Although some of these sites are international like Reddit and Quora they have great local (South Africa) content as well.
Many of these communities have a very active classified section and is a great way to shop online for some great bargains with your new fibre internet connection.
UseNet
UseNet is known as the online community that existed way before everything else, and in the early days of the internet, if you needed to know anything, you’d just go ask about it in a related UseNet group. It’s the original home of the internet, and it was Reddit far before Reddit was a thing.
Fancy yourself a bit of a gearhead? Take a look at CARForums. Here, you’ll find everything a car enthusiast, collector or just anyone who wants to fix their cars might want to know.
If you prefer to take the scenic route, the 4x4 Community forum should put you in touch with other gearheads who share your travel interest. This includes the best places to get 4x4 training from, just trade some parts in the classified section or the best advise as to how to let your Land Rover stop leaking oil :)
Cyclist instead? Bike hub cycling forum is the biking equivalent of the 4x4 Community Forum, and you’ll find everything related to exercise and cycling right here in one place.
This is for MTB and roadies. The cycling classified section is also a brilliant way to save some money, for parts on your next ride.
Prefer your cycling motorized instead? Here’s the Think Bike Forum where you can find all of your motorcycling needs covered.
ShareForum calls itself the JSE and Finance forum for South Africa. If you’re looking for the answer to any pressing financial questions, then you should look here.
From discussion about general market trends or specific companies, it's always good to get some outside views as to your next share buy.
If your interest is guitars, tubes and amps, then you’ll find everything you need on the Guitar Talk Community, referred to as GFSA for short. The site even has a small classifieds section and regular guitar-riff competitions to make sure that you can find the best deals and build your chops.
Are you a gamer? Check out the SA Gamer community: Whether you prefer PS4, Xbox, PC or Nintendo, you’ll find everything you need here. Got old graphics cards or memory to trade ? The classified section is a beehive of activity and specials.
Discord is a community app aimed mostly at gamers, and you can download the Discord app to your PC or smartphone to start or join a huge number of communities out there.
MyBroadband is one of the largest forums in South Africa,and there’s an applicable thread for almost any topic that you can think of from technology through to questions about movies, daily life and tax returns. The forum itself has over the years grown to include far, far more topics than just internet connectivity like fibre or adsl. It’s almost the de facto Q&A for South Africans by South Africans.
There’s a subreddit for everything, and there’s very good reason why Reddit calls itself the “front page of the internet.” Just search for the topic (or subreddit) that you might be looking for and you’ll definitely find it, whether it’s poker, international finance, local music or fun facts. Be sure to checkout the South African Sub-Reddit
Quora can be called the question-and-answer hub of the internet, and if you’re in need of a quick question answered you can head straight to Quora to have it answered. Initially founded by some ex-facebook engineers. The quality of the answers are usually quite good compared to some of the message boards out there.
If you have any baby or parenting-related questions, then BabyNet is a great place to go with a bunch of like-minded parents and experts.
Moomie is another great online message board for anyone who might have burning parenting questions to ask.
If you’d like to find out more about sustainable forms of energy, then Power Forum is a local discussion board that can teach you everything you’d like to know. Specially with Eskom load shedding nto going away anytime soon. How will you prepare your house for off the grid connectivity; UPS, full solar or both
Need recipes or cooking advice? ChowHound is one of the best international forums where you can go to find it.
Twitch is a community of gamers who stream, and most types of games – even ones like poker – are covered through the Twitch network. Oh, and reddit link for Twitch
Stack Overflow is your go-to forum and website for programmers, and you’ll find something cool here no matter whether you’ve been at it for years or whether you’re still learning. They have been around a long-long time and have some crazy statistics that 1 in every 4 programmers have visited the site at least once in their lives.
Let’s Not Forget... WhatsApp
WhatsApp groups can also make for another great way to find communities, especially local ones. If you’re looking for a specific Whatsapp group, it’s usually best to find a member to invite you to the group – but there are lists of groups available if you’re looking for general groups to join. Here’s one list of active Whatsapp groups on Quora.